Avery Associates

  A close family relative is not a guarantee of an inheritance from them when they die. Nor is a verbal promise to remember us, no matter how genuine they seemed at the time. That’s because claiming from a deceased estate follows one of these two well-defined paths: Either the deceased left us something in a legal will. Or else their estate goes to their nearest relative(s). We  wrote about legal, valid wills  on a previous occasion. This article is about making a claim from a deceased estate if there is no such document. The UK Government’s legal department offers a Bona Vacantia service, which means ‘vacant goods’ in Latin. Your first task is to find out where you are in order of priority, if at all. Priority for Claiming From a Deceased Estate A legal, valid will sets out how a deceased estate must be shared out. This includes the entire estate whether or not all assets are mentioned. However, if the person dies intestate (without a will) then everything is potentially...

Greater disposable income coincided with the emergence of the late 20 th   century phenomenon of accumulating trappings of wealth. But there does come a time when we must start to declutter. However, as Gloria Stafford says so eloquently, we must first face the question what is to be done with unwanted possessions in our  compulsively hoarded house . Lest our quality of life suffers while customers queue up thrift charity shops. The Long Gradual Process Leading to Compulsive Hoarding Compulsive hoarding does not appear out of nowhere like the big bang theory of creation. We longed for those trappings of wealth when starting out in life and gradually acquired them. Fast forward the decades and half of us have more possessions than we need. However, research does suggest this process slows for most of us when we reach 50. By then we have enough possessions and may be funding looking after them stressful. However, compulsive collecting often departs from the main stream at this ...

This article is about assets in England and Wales that are your legal entitlement. You can only bequeath things that you truly own. Because if you try to include anything else, the rightful owner could challenge your will and even overturn it completely. You should ponder carefully before deciding who gets the proceeds of your English and Welsh assets when you die. Specialist Advice from the Pen of Jeffrey Avery Jeffrey Avery is a specialist valuer of movable collectables. His work takes him into homes of deceased estates, where survivors ask him to arrange home clearances of unwanted items. They tell him they prefer to pay his slightly higher, yet still reasonable rates. Rather than take chances with fly-by-night tippers, and find the items dumped on open land alongside abandoned household waste. General Principles of Ownership and Wills Ownership is a state whereby a person, or legal entity has exclusive rights and control over an asset. Assets could be land, improvements, intellec...

Hampshire straddled the land bridge from Europe during the last great ice age. Mesolithic hunters gathered in river valleys where they hunted giant beasts. Until these became extinct and they began to experiment with agriculture instead. Roman and Norman colonists added to the genetic chain during several invasions. This contributed to a rich culture still evident in museums and antique dealers. I am mindful of this when clearing a hoarded home in Hampshire for I never know what I will find. A Display Cabinet Filled with Old China Pieces  The 21 st  Century Scourge – Fly Tipping in Hampshire I was traveling down to Southampton a few months ago to attend a  hoarded house clearance  after the occupant passed away. I left London early to avoid the worst of the morning rush, and followed a more leisurely route branching off from the motorway. On an impulse I headed down through B roads to visit a village I always wanted to see. It was everything I expected and I was thor...